April 15, 2019
2019 YQCA Requirement for State Shows
Youth for the Quality Care of Animals (YQCA) is a new, national, multi-species youth livestock quality assurance program that focuses on food safety, animal well-being, and character development, through age-appropriate educational curriculum for youth 8-21 years of age. This program is an annual certification that grows with a young person, so the learning modules are different every year.
ALL exhibitors are required to be YQCA certified in order to participate in the 2019 Kansas State Fair Grand Drive and/or Kansas Junior Livestock Show (KJLS). This includes youth who will be showing market animals, commercial breeding females, and/or registered purebred breeding females. Since the program is designed to be a national standard for youth ages 8 and older, 7-year-olds who will be participating in KJLS are exempt from completing this requirement. Families need to attach copies of each child's YQCA certificate to their Declaration Form at the time of nomination.
Youth may participate in an instructor-led class for $3/child, or complete the online training for $12/child. There is also a test-out option for 12 and 15-year-olds only. A family memo is posted on the YQCA page of the KSU Youth Livestock Program website, which provides a detailed explanation of each certification option available to youth. Families should use their 4HOnline credentials to create a user account on the YQCA website and register their children for certification.
More information may be found on the KSU Youth Livestock Website, under Youth Livestock Quality Assurance, by contacting the local extension office, or via Lexie Hayes at adhayes@ksu.edu or 785-532-1264.